NOVEL WEB Chapter 114 - The Competition 18
When Mai Dongzi mentioned Zhuang Huiya’s poor family background and the resulting limitations on his training, she intended to impress these students and gain their recognition for Zhuang Huiya while reducing any disdain. However, she found that her words had even fooled Zhuang Huiya’s mentor.
“Given Zhuang Huiya’s outstanding performance in the individual competition, I can apply for a scholarship for him at the end of the semester,” Mentor Lu said thoughtfully.
Mai Dongzi…
Instructor Fang also sent a message to Mai Dongzi to inquire about Zhuang Huiya’s condition. Upon learning that although he had severe burns, they were treatable, he finally felt relieved.
Although he wasn’t at the scene, Instructor Fang had been watching the match through video.
“This kid is too determined. Thankfully, this is just a competition, not a real battlefield; otherwise, he’d be dead by now. Once he recovers, he needs to be taught a lesson not to do such reckless things in the future,” Instructor Fang said sternly.
Mai Dongzi didn’t know what to say. It was she who had analyzed the loophole for Zhuang Huiya; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to spot it.
“But, well done. Zhuang Huiya has greatly boosted the morale of our command department. Originally, our plan was just to make it to the top 1/8 of the competition, and now we’ve even made it to the top 1/4… Haha, who would have thought that the top student from the ability department would be eliminated by one of our command department students in the 1/8 finals? The ability department has been boasting for the past six months; now Old Huang will definitely be furious… I will request a special reward for Zhuang Huiya from the department,” Instructor Fang said, unable to hide his pride.
Mai Dongzi felt a pang of frustration. Wasn’t it said that Zhuang Huiya should be disciplined to avoid such reckless behavior in the future? Instructor Fang, with all your pride, will your reprimands even be effective?
Moreover, the two mentors and instructors probably didn’t know that Zhuang Huiya was no longer poor; otherwise, they wouldn’t be thinking of rewarding him.
However, Mai Dongzi couldn’t help but smile. Although Zhuang Huiya had endured extreme pain, defeating Erica was undeniably satisfying.
This was different from Mai Dongzi defeating Erica. Mai Dongzi’s cultivation level was much higher than Erica’s, so her victory was expected and had little impact on Erica.
Zhuang Huiya was different. In the eyes of others, Zhuang Huiya was merely one of the better-performing first-year students, and he had just advanced to the late stage of Level 4 less than a month ago. In contrast, Erica had been in the early stage of Level 5 for over half a year.
No matter how it was analyzed, apart from Mai Dongzi and Zhuang Huiya, almost everyone believed that Zhuang Huiya would lose.
Yet, within less than a minute of the match starting, Erica was eliminated. Nothing could be more humiliating than this; it was truly satisfying.
“Captain, the video of Zhuang Huiya’s match against Erica is being massively circulated on the campus network. It’s become an extremely popular post. Many people are joking about Erica, the real heiress,” Chen Xinhe said quietly while browsing the campus network.
Mai Dongzi smiled slightly, not surprised that the “true heiress” trope was being used again.
Just like how the “false heiress” tag for her had been played with in many ways by netizens. Many said they no longer recognized the “false” part and expressed their willingness to be a fake heiress like Mai Dongzi.
However, the “true heiress” tag for Erica hadn’t been mocked because, in the public eye, Erica hadn’t made any major mistakes or sought attention, and her cultivation level was indeed impressive. Therefore, the “true” part of her title hadn’t been played with.
But Mai Dongzi had anticipated that if Erica ever faced a setback, the “true” part of her heiress title would definitely be subjected to ridicule. As expected, her prediction was accurate.
“Send me screenshots of those discussions about the true and false heiresses,” Mai Dongzi said.
Mai Dongzi didn’t open her own light brain to check, as all students on the campus network were required to use their real names. Whether browsing or posting opinions, everything could be traced.
She was worried that these records might be used by Erica to salvage her reputation while simultaneously undermining her. Therefore, she didn’t want to look herself.
Although most people were already aware of the true and false heiress situation, and it was known that they were all from the Xi family, Erica’s failure was equivalent to a loss of face for the Xi family. Mai Dongzi watching the commotion could easily lead people to sympathize with the disadvantaged Erica.
There were too many people in the treatment room, making it difficult for Mai Dongzi to join them in gossiping, so she had Chen Xinhe take screenshots for her to review later.
Soon, Mai Dongzi received Chen Xinhe’s message with the screenshots but did not open them immediately, intending to review them later at her leisure.
Unexpectedly, Wang Yiyi also came over to share in the excitement.
Since losing to David and failing to reach the top 1/8 as initially targeted, Wang Yiyi had become somewhat taciturn.
Although her loss was well-justified and she had maintained her composure, losing was still losing.
On the other hand, the dark horse, Zhuang Huiya, had advanced to the top 1/8, making Wang Yiyi’s position as the top freshman of the command department somewhat awkward.
However, seeing Wang Yiyi, who was now eager to view the posts and share in the excitement, and noting that her previously lingering negative emotions had vanished, replaced by a renewed brightness, Mai Dongzi felt a sense of relief.
Indeed, Zhuang Huiya had surpassed Wang Yiyi in both cultivation level and combat power.
Although the current gap in surpassing was still small and not easily noticeable to most people,
Zhuang Huiya, after today’s near life-and-death battle and having his meridians nurtured by Mai Dongzi’s wood element ability, would likely advance further into the late stage of level 4. This would further widen the gap between him and Wang Yiyi.
Such rapid progress, akin to riding a rocket, was something even Mai Dongzi couldn’t achieve. Zhuang Huiya’s swift advancement was a result of fortuitous circumstances combined with his long-term accumulation and breakthrough. Such speed would be hard to maintain in the future.
If Wang Yiyi couldn’t accept that Zhuang Huiya had surpassed her and taken her top position, it would adversely affect her as well.
The fact was that she was powerless to stop Zhuang Huiya’s advancement and couldn’t accept it, which would inevitably impact her mindset and, eventually, her cultivation.
Those unable to adjust or overcome such a mindset were prone to falling into a state of obsession.
Perhaps today’s intense battle with Zhuang Huiya made Wang Yiyi realize that he was not just an ordinary student but one with exceptional willpower.
After acknowledging that she was not as capable as Zhuang Huiya, Wang Yiyi’s attitude became more serene.
Mai Dongzi noticed this change in Wang Yiyi and felt happy for her. She liked the girl and didn’t want her to get stuck at this mental barrier, which could hinder her cultivation progress.
Yu Lan probably wanted to share these news as well and joined them in browsing the gossip.
At this moment, Mai Dongzi’s light brain vibrated lightly, indicating a message from Ren Guang.